Simultaneous travel: I am a talented person in all the worlds

Chapter 284 The Divine Tree and King Nathan
Deep within Nathan Palace.

A strange tree with branches but no leaves stands silently.

This is the sacred object of Nathan Island, the source of the island's will and power.

At this moment, the sacred tree swayed gently without any warning.

A complex emotion, a mixture of fear and resistance, along with an uncontrollable greed and desire, emanated from the core of the divine tree like invisible ripples.

Dressed in an extremely simple pure white linen dress, the young girl with an exceptionally beautiful face, yet possessing a calmness and melancholy beyond her years, is now the 'Queen' of Nathan Island.

He stood barefoot beneath the sacred tree, feeling the unprecedented and intense fluctuations.

This was the first time since she inherited the throne that she had sensed such a complex and contradictory emotion from the "tree".

She subconsciously raised her head, her pure, emerald-green eyes gazing in the direction the branches of the sacred tree faintly pointed.

Using the authority of a 'King' granted by the Divine Tree, she attempted to mobilize the entire island's senses to investigate what anomaly was causing the Divine Tree to move in that direction.

However, the King's Sense, which in theory can perceive any life on the island,... failed.

She found nothing.

Even the moment she attempted to investigate further, the swaying divine tree suddenly returned to its former lifelessness.

"Was it...noticed?"

King Nathan opened her eyes, a hint of confusion flashing in her pupils. She murmured to herself, then turned slightly to ask the Nathan guard beside her:

"Is there anyone in that direction who can avoid the 'tree's' perception?"

Elijah, who was standing to the side with a cigarette in his mouth, slowly exhaled a smoke ring and then replied:
"In that direction, there's a person codenamed 'Seventeen,' from the country we just left. He's very powerful and has a lot of trouble on his hands!"

Upon hearing this answer, the doubt in King Nathan's eyes did not dissipate; instead, it deepened.
“I vaguely remember this name. He must have arrived on the island a long time ago. The strange behavior of ‘Tree’ just now couldn’t be because of him.”

Alfonso, the youngest but strongest member of the Nathan Guard, stood with his arms crossed next to Elijah and turned to ask:
"Have any more people escaped our surveillance and come to the island recently?"

“That’s too many.” Marcelo, the handsome guy with long blond hair, sighed.
"Since the King announced the trial to the public and opened Nathan Island, almost every well-known supernatural force in the world has received the news."

Those who want to take advantage of the chaos and reap benefits, those who simply come to watch the excitement and don't mind the trouble, or those who have long-standing grudges with certain forces or individuals on the island and have come specifically to settle old scores... Heaven knows how many troublesome guys have shown up recently.

Anthony, a descendant of gods rumored to be from Mount Olympus and possessing divine power, nodded in agreement:
"Especially the 'Behemoths' who are trying to swallow up the entire Nathan Island! They have a lot of things that I can't understand. The strange movements of the trees may be because they've been up to something again in the dark."

King Nathan listened quietly to the conversation of his guards, his beautiful face expressionless, and finally shook his head with a hint of weariness.

Others may not understand, but as the 'King' who is most deeply and closely connected with the 'Tree'.

One can clearly discern the complex fluctuations emitted by the divine tree at that moment.

Such emotional fluctuations should not, and absolutely could not, occur in 'Tree'!

Even when faced with utter destruction and extinction, the 'tree' will calmly accept its destined fate with a detached attitude.

It will never reveal such human fear and...desire as it did just now!
That feeling is like
An ancient behemoth, starving for thousands of years and numb and desperate about its own existence, suddenly glimpsed a ray of hope just before it was about to die forever, a ray of hope that could free it from its fate and allow it to evolve to a higher level!
However, that possibility of 'evolution' does not entirely match the 'Tao' and 'Li' that Nathan currently upholds, and in fact, to a large extent contradicts them.

Therefore, he is a special being formed by the collective consciousness of the entire Nasen civilization—the embodiment of the 'God of the Sacred Forest,' the 'Fragment of Imperial Consciousness,' and even the 'Principle of Civilization.'

Only then will it instinctively yearn for further sublimation and perfection.

But at the same time, it was also incredibly afraid that once it accepted this 'evolution,' it might lose a large part of its 'self,' or rather...

The core principles and theories that constitute what makes 'Nasen' what it is!
King Nathan reached out and gently stroked the tree trunk. His once calm and undisturbed emerald eyes were now filled with the ripples stirred by hope.

The pressure from 'Behemoth' was immense!
Having gained some understanding of the world beyond the island, and having recently traveled there herself, the girl was quite clear about it.

What kind of enormous and terrifying monster was he about to face?

It's not just one of the top and most powerful super forces in the world of superhumans today.

Behind it stands a super empire with the most powerful military, economic, and technological hegemony of this era!

To some extent, the actions of Behemoth, this extraordinary company, can be equated with the national will of the United States.

Nathan Island, perhaps with the protection of the sacred tree and the Nathan Guard's fearlessness, could barely defeat the Behemoth Corporation.

But Nathan Island has absolutely no chance of defeating Amelica, which still holds an absolute dominant position in this era (2016)!
Therefore, when the young queen learned that Behemoth had listed Nathan Island as the next target for his 'hunting'... she was very confused and desperate.

Because she truly didn't know how to preserve Nathan Island amidst Behemoth and the colossus behind him.

So when Behemoth 'bought' the entire 'market' in a way that was almost humiliating, she chose to... acquiesce, without making any substantial attempt to stop or resist.

This is because of Nathan's 'natural law'.

But more so, it was because, deep within her heart, filled with despair and helplessness, she still... clung to a tiny, almost self-deceptive... fantasy.

Perhaps the 'market' can temporarily satisfy Behemoth's greedy appetite?

Perhaps, after the monster has eaten and drunk its fill, it will temporarily spare Nathan and allow Nathan to survive a little longer?
But the final result is obvious.

In biblical mythology, Behemoth, the land monster that is as famous as Leviathan and symbolizes endless gluttony and lust, could never be satisfied.
The girl was aware of this, so she made other efforts as well.

For example, try to find allies who can counterbalance this force.

A certain ancient and mysterious Eastern power, which suffered greatly from the bullying of Western powers in modern times, but has now once again stood tall in the world...
But the final result, too... was somewhat within her expectations.

That ancient nation, which was once glorious and brilliant, and also suffered humiliation and decline, after more than a hundred years of perseverance and hard work, may have truly accumulated enough terrifying strength and profound foundation to challenge the strongest hegemon of the present era.

But it is absolutely impossible for it to truly break ties with that global hegemon and confront it head-on for the sake of a small island like Nathan.

At best, it's just about finding an opportunity to use Nathan Island as a 'pawn' to subtly annoy the other party and make them uncomfortable.

Moreover, the 'Way of Nature' that the Nasen civilization believed in and upheld was not actually recognized by that ancient country, which took 'morality, benevolence, righteousness, and propriety' as its core values, and could even be said to be somewhat rejected.

After going out, he saw how vast the world was and realized that King Nathan had no way forward.

He had already made the final preparations to "do his best and leave the rest to fate," intending to use his young life as a final sacrifice to the sacred tree and to this ancient civilization that is no longer tolerated by the world today.

But now, the divine tree's sudden and strange behavior has given the girl, who was already in the abyss of despair, a faint but dazzling glimmer of hope.

If the 'tree' can truly complete its 'evolution,' perhaps... it will allow the Nathan civilization to continue.

Even if the price of doing so is giving up some of the 'principles' upheld by the Nathan generation.

'No matter when or where we are, no matter what dire situation we encounter, we must spare no effort and do everything we can to keep going!'
This is inherently part of 'reason,' perhaps even the most core and fundamental aspect, right?

The young queen raised her pale yet resolute face, gazing intently at the ancient sacred tree before her, which was connected to her by blood and shared her destiny, feeling the complex will deep within its branches trembling slightly, filled with longing and fear.

In my heart, I have already made a decision.

“Elijah, take me to Seventeen. There are some things I need to confirm with myself.”

(End of this chapter)